Autumn is by far my favorite time of the year to photograph engagement sessions. I mean seriously, how can you not fall in love (see what I did there?) with the cooler temps and the gorgeous jewel tones of the changing leaves? An autumn evening couldn’t be more perfect for snuggling up with your loved one in front of a bonfire and wrapping your hands around a warm cup of apple cider. Everything about the fall just reminds me of a Pure Michigan commercial, I can taste the s’mores and smell the fallen leaves right now. It doesn’t matter if your session is in the city or at a park, from sophisticated to playful, practically any style of outfit goes in the fall. I’ve put together a variety of corresponding looks for both men and women to give you inspiration while you’re out shopping for your engagement session.

Back in March, I had the honor of being a vendor at the 7th annual Ultimate LGBT Wedding & Anniversary Expo hosted Between the Lines. I met so many fun couples during the show, but Larry and Ward stood out. We hit it off immediately and talked for quite a while about their upcoming wedding. A few weeks later we grabbed coffee at Biggby to discuss building their custom wedding collection. We chatted about the different vendors they were hiring and I had mentioned that I was looking for a bakery for my daughter’s Alice in ONEderland 1st birthday party, and they recommended Sorella’s Custom Cakes in Livonia. I ended up contacting them and they’re going to make all the treats for her birthday! I can’t wait to see her cake and theirs next month.

So the day of their engagement session, we all get out of our cars and they say they have something for me. I was shocked, I had NO idea what it could have been. I opened the bag and inside I found a tie with white and red roses on it, perfect for painting the roses red. They remembered my daughter’s birthday theme, saw the tie while they were out one day, and picked it up for her party! How sweet are they?! I don’t know how I get so luck as to work with such amazing couples, but these two take the cake (I’m cheesy like that, so pun totally intended). Even during their engagement session at Matthaei Botanical Gardens it felt like I was walking around with a couple of friends and stopping to take photos occasionally. Larry used to be a florist so he had so much knowledge to share about all the plants as we strolled by. At the end of the day we found a shady bench to sit on in the Display Garden and just talked for a good 45 minutes. I’m so excited to be a part of their wedding day next month.

I get asked all the time what couples should wear for their engagement session (or really for any portrait session for that matter) and I do have a style guide that I send them, but I thought it might be helpful to do a semi-regular post on my blog. A few years ago I was doing What to Wear Wednesday posts on a fairly consistent basis and my customers really liked them, so I decided to start them back up again. This will be my first, of hopefully many, style guides to help you with your outfit choices. I’m not going to post them on only Wednesday’s like last time, but you will be able to click a link and see all of them for inspiration.

Rose gold everywhere right now (even my own wedding ring is rose gold and morganite like the one pictured below) and it just pops against the rich, dark colors of this outfit. The fun and flirty dress is great for keeping cool during the engagement session and even the men’s outfit you can switch out the pants for some shorts if you think they might be too warm. When I see these I can picture the session taking place in downtown Detroit amongst the glass buildings, brick, and ending the portraits with a romantic stroll by the River Walk as the sun sets.

Same Love

It’s been fairly humid this summer, so the flowy fabric of these tops are great for allowing a little extra breeze during the session. I imagine these two ladies are very laid back yet playful. Their engagement session is being on the bank of the Huron River, maybe at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor, with breathtaking golden sunlight drenching the scene. The beautiful Huron River moves calmly in the background and the warm rust of the bridges compliment the pastels of these outfits perfectly!

Love is Love

Classy and stylish, these men know their stuff. They have coordinated their outfits using matching colors without looking like they just stepped out of a portrait studio circa 1990. I’ve taken these two sophisticated gentlemen to the Law Quad for their engagement session. Between the stone columns of the old architecture, you can see the love that radiates from their smiles.